Ah Italy... innovation for housing by observing and using nature! by Florida Custom Home Architect John Henry

The beautiful ochre and stone houses that dot the Italian countryside sit by themselves on acres of green fertile fields and cypress trees. The same building techniques are used for houses in the towns and villages. Thick stone walls hold up wood beamed roofs and ceilings. Stucco is the favorite material for the exterior finish. And ceramic tile graces the roofs.

First question: Do you know why the roofs are multicolored and rarely even hued unless brand new? Why are the tiles curved so deeply? How were they made?

Second question: How is it that the stucco seems to last forever and retains the color so well? Are there any other salient attributes of the stucco mix?

ROOF TILE

Ceramic roofs originally were gathered from clay deposits at the closest river. Before machines the roofer (typically the homeowner) would scoop out the clay and pat it on his/her thigh with about an inch of thickness. They would collect a batch and then bake them in ovens. When dry they would mortar them together in a cap and pan fashion. The bottom row would lay curves up and the next row curves down over the intersection. A very neat system that often needed no mortar at all. The tile gets its shape by being narrower at one end due to the fact it was formed closer to the knee!

When the next time for roof repair came up they would go through this process again but the clay in the river would have seasonal changed ore deposits from up-river and the color would be slightly different!

Now machines make these clay tiles in the same shape and out of concrete in a slightly different cross-section for modern house construction. And you can get mixes in different colors on the first roof. (for a less clinical view of ceramic roofs see the nice post by Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI on AR here.)

STUCCO

Stucco, as we apply it today, is not the same mix as that developed from ancient Italy. The stucco of old, and much to current time there, has a secret ingredient - lime. Our modern exterior stucco does not have lime. The benefits of lime stucco: less brittle and not prone to cracking, it is vapor permeable -- allowing excess humidity to travel through walls, it leaves no carbon footprint, it contains no Volatile Organic Compounds, the finish is brighter due to the crystal compounds, the lime repels insects, there is almost zero mold, and integral color lasts longer! Amazing, huh? Unfortunately, lime plaster takes longer to put up, cure, and time to mix and apply the integral coloration.

Stucco in Provence and Tuscany was not automatically added over the stone exteriors in every case because it was an extra expense. Some came to realize it inhibited the cold from penetrating through cracks in the stone construction and you will see more often stucco in the northern parts of Italy rather than the south.

The great house built by Palladio in Vicenza, Villa Rotonda (above), was built of brick and faced with stucco. It has stood for a few hundred years intact and did undergo a renovation with a new coat of stucco. When in Italy looking at other of Palladio's designs in the Veneto I noticed that in one or two cases the immense columns on the porches were losing some of the exterior plaster and brick was peeking through. Owners of these houses could have asked for all stone columns but the cost was obviously prohibitive. They built everything with brick using the concrete method described below. ALSO: If you visit a Baroque or quite decorative Church in any part of Europe and do not see separations of drum to drum in the shaft (indicating a pieced together stone column) and that the columns look like they are nonetheless made of marble, they are NOT and are merely plaster on brick with a 'photo-realistic' painting technique called 'scagliola' which mimicked the veining in plaster! (see right photo)

Local Observation: (see below) this house was built about 4 years ago in a nearby subdivision. The first floor is concrete block, the second is wood frame. Both have the exact same modern stucco mix. Notice how on the north side the concrete block wall on the first floor is free of mold while the wood framed walls above have a terrible case of it. Why? I really don't know! But exterior stucco adheres best to another porous masonry material like brick, stone or block as the molecular connection is best.

Bonus: CONCRETE

Did you know where concrete was 'invented'? Why, in Italy of course. The volcanic residue: ashes and excretions were observed to harden when water was added and it was a simple step to use it to connect ceramic brick upon brick to build walls. If you go to Rome and see the thick walls built in the days of Empire you might notice that bricks were on the inside and outside while some kind of infill was used. This fill is comprised of stones, pottery shards, sand, and concrete. The method was to run the exterior and interior walls several feet at a time and then pour the infill concrete mix while everything was still 'wet' in order to get the strongest wall construction.

(Aside of the day: A book was written a few years back claiming that the Egyptian priests had invented concrete when the stone blocks being floated downriver on reed boats seemed unwieldy and also due to the immense manpower needed to move them in position. The author thinks the priests came up with a system to 'form and pour' thus reducing the huge labor and time required to erect the pyramids. They simply had wood forms that they moved around row after row and poured concrete until they reached the top. It is said that you cannot put in a straight razor in the cracks between the 'stones'. hmmm)

And finally, below, not an Egyptian pyramid, but a period style Italian baroque stucco house designed by John Henry Architect for the Payne Stewart family. The stonework is hand carved from volcanic stone in Mexico; the ceramic tile roof was imported from Argentina:

Beautiful European and American classical period luxury homes and plans created by premier residential Architect John Henry has been a passion now for over 30 years. Inspired by old world archaeology and medieval to Renaissance architecture -- and having lived in Europe and the Middle East-- John Henry is widely known for the romantic and period details that make his work breathe a certain soul and drama. Striving for world-class results, his award-winning work reflects the details and proportions of luxury real estate plans in historical European and American traditional styles. Attention to detail and continuity mean that the architectural interiors should also be integrated properly.

This post is a breath of fresh air - loved reading it, imagining the craftsmen of the past, and pouring over the pictures. Congrats on the feature, and what a lovely home you designed in the last photo.

As a side note, I am so sad about my fellow Californians whose homes are lost to wildfires.... I can't help but wonder if some of these construction methods *might* have survived whereas stick built homes are instantly gone.

John Henry - I am so impressed with your talent, writing style, and the education you are bringing to ActiveRain. Tuscany is one of my favorite places on earth. We have a few luxury homes here in the Dallas and North Dallas area. I sold a few stucco homes and issues came about. After reading about it from what you wrote, it sounds like an art and a science that has to be much more precise than a recipe for a wedding cake for a Princess!

Over time, it can be a disaster. Cracks, water penetration, and potential mold are issues I ran into. As I was staring at old, very old stucco buildings and ceramic roofs in Tuscany, Monaco, and Sardina, I couldn't believe the difference from what was there compared to stucco and ceramic roofs in my area.

I was happy to see this one featured! Your expertise is refreshing and valued. Thank you. I was happy

What a wonderful, educational post, John! I had no idea how the tiles were originally created - very interesting! I found it curious that Palladio faced brick with stucco. Of course, I'm from the southern US where brick is the preferred facade so, to have both, brick & stucco seems so different to me!

Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089 Thanks Georgie, these posts make me look up plane fares back to where it all started... Appreciate your comments!

M.C. Dwyer Hi M: To get a slight feeling of what it was like in those days

check out the movie The Agony and the Ecstasy. Michaelangelo's painting and sculpting techniques are on display in a fantastic period piece between him and the Pope. You also get the different 'class' structure between painters and sculptors, the personal fights for expression and glory, etc. Fantastic movie.

And we all have heard about these terrible fires in California! There must be something that can be done to keep them from raging so quickly. Thank you!

The Payne Stewart home was very private and not advertised for years. There is a third generation of homeowner there now gracious to let us have taken the photos.

Patricia Feager Hi Patricia, once again your compliments shame me. I am only the storyteller, and there are better. Yes, the real thing is quite a learning experience. BTW: I think Austin homebuilders may be doing the stucco a bit better than up north. The biggest problem I see in making modern stucco "work" is the application on wood frame which simply does not hold over time. If you apply stucco, old or new, on stone or concrete block, it adheres molecularly better. It is rare to see mold on lime stucco but over time it will appear on the north faces especially. You can see the mold on the north face of Foscari in the photo above. If the sun doesn't hit stucco and there is a moisture issue, mold will show up.

The old stucco surfaces and multiple ceramic tile redo's on houses in Italy are inspiring and remind you how time and weather affects everything. When I see mold on a multicolored roof in those areas it speaks volumes of time passing, etc. Take a drive down the Amalfi coast and walk through those famous towns on the water. Just breathtaking.

Thanks as ALWAYS!!

Debe Maxwell, CRS Hi Debe, you can face ANY brick building with stucco and it will hold longer than siding. It STICKS best on a porous or similarly composed molecular surface. The story about how they patted down and formed the roof tiles is amazing.

Had to open this blog because of that title! Those Italian homes, built hundreds of years ago...still standing strong! Very sad to hear of the earthquakes there destroying so many buildings. Esp enjoyed the tile roof info!

Mary Hutchison, SRES, ABR I wish I could include a whiff of freshly made pasta too! Earthquakes all along the Mediterranean have ruined many towns and monuments, yes very sad. The colorful roofs always intrigued me and finally found out why that was so. Thanks for reading this Mary.

Elizabeth, some of the French castles and older Italian Palazzi have two and three foot wide outer walls. If a remodeled defensive castle the walls are even thicker. Window ledges are deep due to this reason. The Italian country folk realized that to build taller in stone the walls had to be thicker.

When I design larger houses I build out the walls at the Foyer to about a foot to give the impression that the house is substantial. Archways should have a minimum of 8" width and more if possible at the head and legs.

I have not seen the ancient sites in Mexico but would love to one day. I had no idea sidewalks were built. Must have been from stone. Thanks.

So lime is the ingredient missing in today's stucco, eh? Makes sense. You really do know how to write an entertaining and informative blog. So happy to see the feature star too. You earned it - but you're making me yearn for a trip to Italy. :)

Debb Janes EcoBroker and Bernie Stea JD Yes Debb, Italy is a land of imagination, history and wonder. Venice is just spectacular and Rome and Florence are marvels to behold. I come back from these trips with amazing memories: sights and sounds. And then see what little detail and lack of sensory perception in our New World offers -- and jut get frustrated. Thanks, glad you liked the info. The Lime da Coconut is the main thing. Lime actually was used in concrete as well as all the other techniques mentioned except the tile roofs. Lime apparently makes concrete and terrazzo, wall plaster last longer. It is biodegradable, unlike our current mixes. Arrggghhh!! and it costs too much to put on stucco houses...

Wow! Amazing information. Since a HUGE portion of our homes are built with stucco here in Phoenix, I was most curious as to how stucco didn't crack and the creation of roof tiles' color and shape. Read your entire post, fascinating. Love your baroque design. Gorgeous! And the additional photos - stunning! Congrats on your many successes :)

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